A crisis arising from internal conflict, external pressure or unforeseen circumstances can have a profound impact on an entire workforce, challenging the human resources team to help them navigate a sudden storm. The key to a successful crisis response strategy is effective crisis communication that is focused on maintaining organizational stability and employee well-being.
In times of crisis, the role of the HR professional transcends the primary goals of workforce development and policy administration. The HR team becomes a first responder during crisis management. HR may already be positioned to communicate effectively with the workforce and may be equipped to disseminate accurate information, assuage fears, dispel rumors, resolve conflicts and maintain the integrity of the organization’s reputation and culture.
What is crisis communication?
Crisis communication is the strategic process of disseminating information, managing perceptions and maintaining organizational stability during a time of crisis. The objective is timely, accurate and effective communication of facts, plans and reassurances to employees, customers and other stakeholders while mitigating the negative impact on the organization’s reputation, business continuity and morale.
The Role of HR in Crisis Management
As the primary liaison between the organization and its employees, HR can play a key role in crisis situations. During times of crisis, HR professionals may be tasked with gathering accurate information, crafting clear and concise messages and delivering both news and planning decisions with sensitivity and empathy.
HR can be the voice of reason, providing guidance, ongoing support and reassurance to employees who may be experiencing profound uncertainty or distress. HR may also be responsible for coordinating response efforts and facilitating communication between employees, departments or branch locations.
Three Foundational Principles
Although every organization is unique, an effective crisis communication strategy should be based on three foundational principles: transparent communication, empathy and trustworthiness.
- Transparency is the cornerstone of effective crisis communications. It requires honesty about the crisis’s current and potential impacts and the organization’s response plans and efforts. Transparency is the foundation of all credibility, enabling employees to make informed decisions and feel confident in the organization’s leadership.
- Empathy is essential in crisis communication, as it acknowledges the emotional toll inflicted on individuals when a crisis strikes. HR professionals must demonstrate empathy by actively listening to employee concerns, validating their feelings and offering support and reassurance. By showing empathy, HR can foster a sense of connection and solidarity among employees.
- Trustworthiness is at the heart of successful crisis communication, defining the employer-employee relationship. HR must uphold a high level of trust throughout a crisis by delivering accurate information, following through on commitments and acting with integrity and professionalism.
Common Challenges in Crisis Communication
The most common challenges HR professionals may face in managing crisis communications include information management, consistent messaging, emotional distress, legal and compliance concerns and media scrutiny.
Information Management
Gathering accurate and timely information for crisis management can be challenging, especially when faced with disrupted communication links, rapidly evolving situations and potentially conflicting status reports.
HR Tips: Provide the latest accurate and up-to-date information about the crisis and its impacts. Report the actions of the organization and its plans going forward. When mistakes are made, acknowledge any errors or uncertainties and explain how they will be addressed.
Consistent Messaging
Consistent messaging across multiple communication channels may be difficult, leading to confusion and mistrust.
HR Tips: Choose one person or team to be the voice of the human resources organization. Communicate at regular intervals and with consistent tools, such as regular email updates or meetings with leadership. Communications that are based on facts and evidence, with no opinions or speculation, may lead to less confusion.
Emotional Distress
Employees may entertain some of their worst fears during a crisis. Will there be a pay cut? Will I lose my job? Will the company go out of business?
Employees may also experience conflict with other employees or departments, resentment against supervisors or anger against the organization. The objective of effective crisis management in HR should be to acknowledge fear, anxiety or anger and to help employees handle their jobs and respond to the crisis while managing these emotions.
Legal and Compliance Concerns
A crisis communication strategy should balance transparency with legal and compliance obligations under various stakeholder relationships. Careful consideration of privacy laws and regulatory requirements may require guidance from legal counsel.
Media Scrutiny
Dealing with media inquiries may be a job for the organization’s public information representatives but may also require HR to carefully navigate internal messaging while protecting employee privacy and the reputation of the business. By understanding and applying the principles of transparency, empathy and trustworthiness, HR professionals can be equipped to navigate crisis communication with confidence.
How to Develop a Crisis Communication Strategy
Effective preparation for crisis communication begins with the development of a comprehensive crisis communication plan. The plan might identify potential crisis scenarios, designate a communications team, develop protocols and channels, train HR staff and plan for regular crisis simulation drills.
Identify Potential Crisis Scenarios
The HR team can work collaboratively with key stakeholders to identify potential crisis situations that could impact the organization. The organization may already have scenarios developed by senior management for risk mitigation. By anticipating potential threats and vulnerabilities before a crisis hits, HR can develop targeted communication strategies for each scenario, helping to ensure a prepared and proactive response.
Designate a Crisis Communication Team
A crisis communication team may be comprised of individuals from relevant departments, including human resources, operations, senior leadership and legal counsel. This team may be responsible for shaping the crisis management plan, coordinating communication efforts to engage stakeholders, monitoring developments and making strategic decisions during the recovery period.
Develop Communication Protocols and Channels
Clear communication protocols and channels must be established to facilitate orderly, timely and credible communication during a crisis. This includes determining who has the authority to speak for the organization, selecting primary communication channels, such as email, group chat or social media, and establishing procedures for disseminating information internally and externally.
Train HR Staff for Crisis Communication Roles
HR staff may need to receive specialized training to prepare them for their roles in crisis communication situations. This training may cover topics like crisis communication principles, media relations, message development, employee privacy and regulatory compliance. By equipping HR staff with the necessary skills and knowledge, the entire team can confidently fulfill their responsibilities during a crisis.
Conduct Crisis Simulations
Crisis simulations can test the effectiveness of the plan and identify areas for improvement. Drills can allow HR teams to practice their roles in a controlled environment, acting out realistic crisis scenarios while evaluating the overall organization’s response capabilities.
These preparations for crisis communication can help enhance the readiness of the HR team, providing opportunities to strengthen the plan, as well as instilling confidence among employees and other stakeholders who participate in a training simulation.
The Importance of Transparent Communication
Transparency can demonstrate an organization’s commitment to honesty, integrity and accountability, helping to build trust with employees, customers and the public. Transparent communication can foster a sense of shared understanding and collaboration, enabling stakeholders to make informed decisions and support the organization during the crisis with commitment and loyalty.
How HR Professionals Can Maintain Transparent Communication
- Be Honest and Open: HR professionals communicating candidly can help alleviate the temptation to downplay the severity of an issue or conceal negative information. A culture of transparency may build credibility with stakeholders and confidence in the capability of the organization to meet the challenge and recover.
- Share Timely Updates with all Stakeholders: Timely information can be essential in a crisis, as delays in sharing details may lead to rumors, speculation and mistrust. HR should ensure that updates are shared promptly with all employees as developments unfold.
- Acknowledge Uncertainties and Limitations: Employees need to feel confident that the organization is sharing all that is known about the scope of the crisis and the efforts of the organization to address the situation. By acknowledging uncertainties and limitations, the organization can demonstrate transparency and authenticity, building trust and earning continued confidence.
One Example of Effective Transparent Communication
In 2015, Chipotle faced a crisis situation after an E. Coli outbreak was linked to one of its restaurants. In response to this, Chipotle implemented transparent communication strategies, including closing affected locations, cooperating with health authorities and providing regular updates to the public. Despite a strong, immediate negative impact on its reputation and sales, Chipotle’s transparent communication helped rebuild trust and mitigate long-term damage to its brand.
Empathy in Crisis Communication
Empathy is incredibly important in crisis communications since employees may be emotionally affected by a crisis situation. For HR professionals, approaching such situations with warmth and understanding can play a pivotal role in how other respond to and deal with the crisis.
How HR Professionals Can Demonstrate Empathy
- Practice Active Listening: Active listening means taking the time to hear, discuss and understand the concerns and viewpoints of employees. By providing a safe space for employees to express themselves openly, HR can validate their feelings, fostering trust, loyalty and an open exchange of views.
- Provide Emotional Support Resources: During a crisis, employees may experience heightened stress, anxiety, anger or other emotions. HR professionals may demonstrate empathy by providing emotional support resources such as counseling services, assistance programs and wellness initiatives.
- Tailor Communications to Address Employee Needs: Crisis communications should be tailored to the needs and feelings of employees. This can help build trust, rapport and resilience by providing clear answers, offering reassurance and acknowledging the challenges employees may be facing.
Examples of Empathy in Crisis Communication
HR professionals can use empathy in a variety of ways during a crisis situation. Examples could include personalized messages from leadership to employees, virtual counseling and support groups and flexible work arrangements.
Trustworthiness in Crisis Communication
Trust is paramount in crisis communication, especially in human resources, where credibility is often essential for developing employee confidence in HR support. To build and maintain trust, HR professionals should demonstrate consistency, honesty and accountability throughout a crisis.
How to Build Trust through HR Crisis Communication
- Consistent and Reliable Messaging: Consistent communications from human resources should be required over all channels, in all locations and at all levels of an organization. To maintain credibility, HR professionals should ensure that all details are accurate and updated before disseminating information.
- Integrity in Words and Actions: Honesty is a non-negotiable in crisis communications. Human resources teams should acknowledge the severity of the situation and all challenges faced by the organization. By being forthright and sincere, HR can build trust with employees, reinforcing their credibility.
- Accountability for Mistakes: Employees probably know that things can go sideways in a crisis. Admitting mistakes and taking responsibility for shortcomings can be essential to maintaining trustworthiness. Human resource professionals should be willing to acknowledge errors, apologize for any harm caused and take corrective action when required. Accountability may translate into confidence in the organization’s leadership.
Trust-Building Examples
In 1982, after several deaths from cyanide poisoning were linked to purchases of Tylenol, Johnson & Johnson immediately recalled Tylenol products and implemented tamper-resistant packaging. In a textbook example of fostering trust by prioritizing public safety over profits, Johnson & Johnson demonstrated integrity and accountability with affected customers, shareholders, public safety officials and the media. Their decisive actions rescued the reputation of the company and the value of the trusted Tylenol brand.
Overcoming Challenges
Navigating a crisis can be fraught with challenges that impede effective communication and undermine trust. By recognizing these challenges and meeting them head-on, HR professionals can mitigate their impact and nurture a more resilient workforce response.
- Manage Rumors: Rumors and misinformation can spread rapidly during a crisis, fueling confusion, fear and distrust. Human resources should be vigilant in monitoring communication channels, identifying rumors and responding promptly with accurate information.
- Balance Transparency with Confidentiality: While transparency is essential for building trust and credibility, organizations must also adhere to legal obligations and protect sensitive information. HR teams are well-positioned to respond to this challenge by ensuring that communication is open without compromising individual privacy or data security.
- Manage Communication Overload: During a crisis, too much information may lead to disengagement and decreased responsiveness. Ensure that messages are concise and targeted to the needs of stakeholders, containing only accurate and relevant information. Provide opportunities for feedback, allowing employees to ask questions and express concerns.
Post-Crisis Evaluation
When the storm has passed, it’s essential to conduct a post-crisis evaluation, learn from mistakes, identify areas for improvement and strengthen strategies for future crises. Human resources may take the lead in reviewing the organization’s performance, including messaging, channels, timing and response coordination.
The opportunity presented by a crisis might only be captured by incorporating the lessons learned into improved strategies and new planning for future crisis response. HR can collaborate across the organization to develop actionable recommendations based on the findings of the evaluation and the experiences of individual team leaders. Post-crisis evaluation may be used to refine messaging templates, enhance training programs and implement new technology to improve communication efficiency.
Building a More Resilient Organization
During a crisis, effective communication is often the cornerstone of resilience, and the professionals who manage human resources have a key role in helping organizations navigate crisis management with accurate and up-to-date information that is transparent, empathetic and trustworthy.
Navigating times of crisis can be difficult for any organization and any HR team. If you need additional HR support, Higginbotham can help. Learn more about our HR consulting and outsourcing solutions and talk to a member of our team today.
